Russia CASHING OUT Their Crypto in the Middle East?

Is the United Arab Emirates assisting Russia in cashing out its cryptocurrency?

According to industry executives and financial sources, crypto firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being inundated with requests to sell billions of dollars in virtual currency as Russians seek a safe haven for their assets.

According to the sources, some clients are utilizing bitcoin to invest in real estate in the UAE, while others want to use local firms to convert their virtual currency into physical currency and store it elsewhere.

In the last ten days, one crypto firm has received numerous requests from Swiss brokers seeking to liquidate billions of dollars in bitcoin because their clients are concerned that Switzerland will freeze their assets, according to one executive, adding that none of the requests had been for less than $2 billion.

"In the last two weeks, we've got maybe five or six. They haven't all come off yet – one of them fell over at the last minute, which isn't uncommon – but we've never had this much interest before "According to the CEO, his firm receives a significant transaction request once a month on average.

"We have one person — I'm not sure who he is, but he came through a broker – who says, "We want to sell 125,000 bitcoin." 'What?' I think to myself. Guys, that's $6 billion. 'Yeah, we're going to send it to an Australian company,' they say "According to the executive,

The Swiss financial market supervisor refuses to comment on the amount of bitcoin transactions.

Crypto assets are subject to the same sanctions and restrictions that Switzerland has imposed on "normal" Russian assets and individuals, according to the country's economic affairs secretariat (SECO). If a person is sanctioned, their crypto assets must likewise be frozen in Switzerland.

Russians were buying property in Dubai, according to a financial source in the UAE, who said they were utilizing cryptocurrency to transfer their money out of other countries and into the Gulf state.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have announced that they are suspending the accounts of Russians sanctioned by the West as a result of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow refers to as a "special operation"

Nonetheless, because cryptocurrency provides users with a high level of anonymity, European countries such as Germany and Estonia have asked for stricter control this week to close any gaps that could allow sanctions to be circumvented.

Three Western officials said they were becoming increasingly concerned about the growing number of Russians seeking refuge in the UAE for their fortunes, including property, in recent weeks, and were concerned that some of them might be acting on behalf of people subject to sanctions.

Two of the diplomats expressed reservations about the UAE cracking down on Russian riches in the Gulf state, which they claimed was primarily held in Dubai, noting the UAE's neutral posture in the conflict.

A third expressed hope that the UAE, which is also a gold trading centre, was aware of the consequences and would take action.